Feed-trough



D. R. STUART.

FEED THOUGH;

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15. 1919.

1,395,307. Patented Nov. 1, 1921 UNITED STATES IPAVTENT OFFICE.

DONALD R. STUART, 0F HARLAN, IOWA.

FEED-THOUGH.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

Application filed September 15, 1919. Serial No. 323,761.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DONALD R. STUART,

a citizen of the United States, residing at the same is to provide an improved apparatus ofthis character which will be simple, durable and cheap in construction and effective and ellicient in operation.

A further object is to provide an improved apparatus of this character having improved means for agitating and distributing the contents of the trough and which is also provided with improved means whereby the contents of the trough will be prevented from passing under the agitator, thereby preventing the same from becoming clogged orlocked against operation.

A further object is to provide improved means in conjunction with the agitator for agitating the contents of the bin above the trough thereby keeping the contents of the bin disintegrated or separated to insure a free feeding of the material in the bin.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawing illustrating this invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional View of a trough of this character constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention and with parts shown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the agitator and the means for actuating the. same.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawingthe numeral 10 designates generally a bin of any desired size and configuration having an opening in its top provided with a suitable closure 11. At the bottom'of the bin there is provided a trough 12 having an inclined base 13 and the wall 14; of the bin is provided with a suitable opening 15 forming a communication between the bin and the trough and through which opening the material is fed into the trough.

It is to be understood that any desired number of agitators to be'hereinafter described, may be employed in this trough and the bin may be constructed so that the troughs may be arranged on opposite sides thereof. As the construction and operation of each of the agitators is the same, the specific description of one will apply equally as well to them all.

Mounted upon the base 13 of the trough is a support 16 constructed of any suitable material and is arranged preferably so as to terminate adjacent the outer face of the wall 1 1 of the bin. The upper face of the support 16 is provided with a recess 17 opening therethrough to form shoulders 18 for a purpose to be hereinafter stated.

An agitator element 19 preferably in the form of a plate constructed of sheet material, or if desired may be of cast material, is arranged upon the support 16 adjacent the opening 15. This element 19 is preferably provided with a straight edge 20 adapted to move in a guide 21 secured to the support 16 in such a manner that the guide will be flanged over the edge 20 of the element 19. This guide serves two functions, first as a means for holding the element 19 against a rotative movement but permitting it to reciprocate freely, and secondly as a means for preventing the contents of the bin from passing beneath the element 19 and between said element and the support 16. If desired the ends 22 of the element 19 may be inclined as shown to assist in directing the material from the bin.

An operating element 23 is provided for the element 19. This element 23 is preferably in the form of a bar pivotally mounted as at 21 intermediate its ends Preferably upon the support 16. The end 25 of the element 23 passes over the element 19 in close proximity thereto and is so arranged that the end 25 projects through the opening 15 so that its extremity 26 will terminate within the trough 12. The elements 23 and 19 are connected together in any suitable manner preferably by means of a pivot 27 arranged over the recess 17 in the support 16 so that one end of the pivot 27 will project into the recess and thereby permit the parts to be assembled closely. This pivot 27 may be in the form of a bolt if desired, its function being to connect the two elements 19-23 so that one is adapted for a pivotal move ment while the other is adapted for a nonrotative reciprocating movement. The end 28 of the element 23 projects into the bin 10 and is preferably deflected at the angle shown, the end being preferably provided with a-series' of openings 29 therethrough. This end 28 may beof any desired length, and detachably connected with the end of the element 23 is a bar or rod 30 having a bent extremity 31 adapted to be detachably seated in any one of the openings 29. The element 30 projects'into the bin for any desired extent and passes beneath a suitable guide 32, which guide is secured to a stationary suport. p With this improved construction it will be manifest that when the bin is full of material it will pass through the opening into the trough 12 and as the animal consumes the food from the trough, it will in its course of feedingshiit't the extremity 26 of the element 23 first toone side and then to the othe'r,-causing the agitator 19 to be reciprocated and this reciprocating movement will agitate the contents of the bin so asto disintegrate the same and permit it to flow freely through the opening 15. At the same time the element 30 will be operated and this will keep the particles of material within the bin separated.

In order to limit the reciprocating movement of the element 19 by the element 23,

there may be provided an element 33 which is secured by suitable fastening devices 34 to the lower face of the element 19 above the recess 17 and the extremities 35 of the element 33 may be deflected into the recess to form the flanges or ears which cooperate with the respective shoulders or stops 18 of the recess 17. A door or gate 36 maybe provided for varying the size of the opening 15 and may be mounted for adjustment upon the wall 1 1 otthe bin in any suitable manner such as by means of a fastening bolt 37 passing through a suitable slot 38 and engaging the wall of the bin;

Vith this improved construction it will be manifest that when it is desired to stop the feeding of the material, the door or gate 36 may be lowered and thereby close the open-v ing 15, the lower edge of the door being preferably notched as at 39 to permit the door to close tight.

lVith this improved construction it will be manifest that the grain or material in the.

bin will not pass between the agitator and its support which would tend to prevent the easy operation of the same, and at the "same time the parts are so arranged that when de sired they may be readily removed and when assembled will be compact and all of the parts will be so arranged'that the animal will not be injured in the operation thereof.

What is claimed as new is 1. A feed trough embodying a bin, a

trough with which the bin has communication, the bottom of thetrough being inclined, an agitator element operating in the bin adjacent the communicating opening be tween the bin and trough and slidably supported for reciprocation in an approximately straight line and in a plane extendinglengthwise of the said opening, a second element anchored to a stationary support, means connecting said elements, said second element extending through the said opening and terminating in the trough by means of which the said agitator element may be reciprocated, the said agitator element projecting laterally for a considerable distance beyond the said second element, and means for limiting the movement of the said agitator element by the operation of the said second element. g 2'. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough with which the bin has communication, the bottom of the trough being inclined, an agitator slidably supported upon said bottom and operating in the bin adjacentthe communicating opening between the bin and trough and reciprocable in a plane extending lengthwise of and substantially parallel with the said opening, a pivotally mountedelement for ope'ratingthe said agitator, the said element extending through the said opening outside of the bin and into the trough, and means forming a pivotal connectionbetween the said elem nt and the agitator, the said agitator"extending'latten ally beyond'the said element for a considerable distance. I

3. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough with which thebin has communication, the bottom of the trough being inclined, an agitator slidably supported upon said bottom'and operating in'the bin adjacent the communicating opening between the bin and trough and reciprocable man approximately straight line exten'ding'in a direction lengthwise of said opening,'a pivotally mounted element for operatingthe said agitator,the said element extending through the said opening outside of the bin and into the trough, means forming a pivotal connection between the said element and the'agitator, and means forming spaced'stops for limiting the sliding movements of the said agitator. V

a. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough with which the bin has communication, the bottom of the trough being inclined, an agitator element operating in the bin adjacent the communicating opening between the bin and trough and reciprocable in an approximately straight line, means connected with the said agitator element and extending through the opening and terminating in the trough by means of which the said agitator may be operated, means for limiting the movement of the said agitator by the operation of the first recited means, a guide for the said agitator, the said guide also operating to prevent particles of the material from passing between the agitator and the support therefor.

5. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough, there being a communicating opening between the bin and trough, an agitator element operating in the bin adjacent the opening and mounted for reciprocating movement in an approximately straight line extending in a direction lengthwise of said opening, an operating element anchored to a fixed support and mounted for pivotal movement, one end of the element extending through the said opening to the outside of the bin and terminating in the trough, means pivotally connecting the said element with the agitator to operate the latter, spaced stops beneath the agitator and means cooperating with the said stops for limiting th movements of the said agitator.

6. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough, there being a communicating opening between the bin and the trough, the bottoms of the bin and trough being both inclined, an agitator plate operating in the bin adjacent the said opening, an operating element having one end extending through the said opening into and terminating within the trough, means mounting said element for pivotal movement, means whereby the operation of the said element will impart a reciprocating movement to the agitator plate there being a recess in the agitator plate support beneath the agitator plate, spaced stops connected with the lower face of the agitator plate and operating in the recess to limit the movement of the agitator plate by said element, and means operating to prevent the material from passing beneath the plate and between the plate and its support.

7 A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough, there being a communicating opening between the bin and the trough, the bottoms of the bin and trough being both inclined, an agitator plate operating in the bin adjacent the said opening, an operating element having one end extending through the said opening into and terminating within the trough, means mounting said element for pivotal movement, means whereby the operation of the said element will impart a reciprocating movement to the agitator plate, there being a recess in the agitator plate support beneath the agitator plate, spaced stops connected with the lower face of the agitator plate and operating in the recess to limit the movement of the agitator plate by said element, and means operating to prevent the material from passing beneath the plate and-between the plate and its support, the last recited means embodying a guide arranged along one side of the agitator plate and overhanging the edge thereof.

8. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough, there being a communicating opening between the bin and trough, means operating within the bin adjacent the opening for agitating the material to disintegrate or separate the material, the said means embodying two elements operatively connected whereby one of the elements will be responsive in its operation to the operation of the other, one of the elements being pivotally mounted and extending through the opening into and terminating within the trough, the other element being mounted for a reciprocating movement in an approximately straight line extending in a direction lengthwise of said opening, and a stationary guide for the reciprocating element, said guide overhanging the adjacent edge of the element.

9. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough, there being a communicating opening between the bin and trough, and means operating within the bin adjacent the opening for agitating the material to disintegrate or separate the material, the said means embodying two elements operatively connected whereby one of the elements will be responsive in its operation to the operation of the other, one of the elements being pivotally mounted and extending through the opening into and terminating within the trough the other element being mounted for a reciprocating movement in an approximately straight line extending in a direction lengthwise of the opening, a fixed guide for the reciprocating element, said guide overhanging the adjacent edge of the element, one of the said elements having a fixed pivot and a pivotal connection with the other element.

10. A feed trough embodying a bin, a trough with which the bin has communication, the bottom of the trough being inclined, an agitator supported upon said bottom and operating in the bin adjacent the commu nicating opening between the bin and the trough, an element pivotally mounted upon a fixed support and intermediate the ends of the element, one end of said element projecting into the trough through the said opening and across the agitator element, means pivotally connecting the two elements, the other end of the operating element proj ecting into and terminating within the bin, and an additional element arranged within the bin, one end of the said additional element being detachably connected to the adj acent end of the said operating element.

11. In a feed trough; a feed bin for holding a quantity of feed; a front and a back for said bin; a bottom for said bin said bottom being formed of a front half portion and a. back half portion which meet and are highest beneath the center of said bin, said half portions of said bottom being inclined downward and outward therefrom to points beneath the lower edges of said front and back respectively; a feed agitator mounted for slida-ble movement on the front half portion of said bin bottom; agitator moving "means whereby said agitator is reciprocatively moved; an agitator red the lower end of which is loosely connected with one end of said agitator moving means'and extends therefrom to said bin back; and loose fitting 15 name to this specification on this 9th day of 20 September, A. D. 1919. r

' D. R. STUART. 

